The Free Spirit and Pixie vs Dryads
A boy around 17 wearing white jeans, white combat boots, a golden yellow under top under a long sleeve white top, mid length golden blodnde hair covering his right eye with a bit of a scar on show, the eye not covered is green, the boy also has two rings on each hand one white, one gold, he has frown on his face as he looks at his rings. "halves my power?" He ask himself. In the city of Hargeon, a woman in her early twneties sat on a bench, groaning. Her name was Kazumi, and she was fueling with rage. No less than four days ago had she suffered her first defeat in ages. To lose was not something in and of itself that she despised as long as it was earned, but this was not an honest fight. It was with a dark mage. A criminal! And she lost in the most humiliating way posible for a dragon slayer. She needed another chance. A chance to get back at her but she knew that she couldn't do it alone, not at this point. She needed help but the guild refused. So what to do? The boy walks past the bench looking at his rings. "these better work." He says as he walks off. Kazumi took notice of the guy who walked past her. Nothing in particular was especially noteworthy about him at first glace, other than his different colored eyes, but what drew her attention was the rings on his finger. One ring she could not identify for sure, but the other one she knew without a doubt. It was a limiter! Special rings designed to keep an individual's power in check. Those are normally given to mages either as a means to suddenly surprise their foes, or because they find difficulty to practice restraint, meaning they need other means to hold back. He might be a good candidate. ''She thought. She rose up. "Excuse me, sir?" she called out to him. He stops but doesn't turn round. "yes? If you're here to take me back after all these years just leave" his voice sounds mad. Kazumi approaches him by a few feet. "Why such an attitude?" She coed playfully. "I'm just trying to get your attention, no need for such hostility." He turns round. "I've had a hard life. anyway what do you need miss?" His four rings can be seen better now also the end of the scar can be seen from the end of the hair covering his right eye. Kazumi put on a gentle smile as she took another few steps towards him. "I just couldn't help but notice your most interesting choice in jewelry. Limiters is not something you see everyday and especially not on some sub-par mage. So a thought struck me... What if you aid me in a certain task of mine?" "depends miss" he says looking at his rings. "what is this task and will we be killing?" he asks anger in his eyes but only his green eye can be seen. Kazumi let out a giggle. "No no, nothing like that. Well, unless they force us to, but that is another matter. I need your help to take out a certain mage who recently "Returned from the dark side". In any other case, I could do it myself, but with a guild by her side, I think I may need som assitance. So what say you? There will be good pay." she said, trying ot tempt him with the lure of Jewels. "I'll help but no pay" he says looking at his rings. Kazumi reacted in a most exagerated way to how he said that he did not desire payment for his service. However, she quicly composed herself and spoke once more: "I see. Well then, let's head out. Our target is the town Magnolia. I can tell you more about the target once we get there." she said as she gestured to the street that would lead them out of the city. "Ok lead the way miss" he says as he looks at his rings. "By the way what's your name?" Kazumi smiled sweetly. "Kazumi Tanaka. A pleasure." "Same i'm Shi...." Stops himself from saying his name and looks away. The smile never faltered from Kazumi's features. "Shy, huh? No worries, I won't pry." She said soothingly. "Let's just get on our merry way. The quicker we get to that thug, the better." "I'm not shy, I'm careful" he tells her. "Right let's go." "Whatever you say. Anyway, let me tell you a bit about our opponent. Her name is Carwen Khapree and she is a rather unique dragon slayer. She uses magical marks which will weaken you, so be wary of those. And do not forget that she specializes in..." Kazumi would proceed to tell her new ally everything that she knew of their foe so as to prepare him for everything. They left the city and made their way towards Magnolia. Carwen sat alone in a corner, solemnly sipping away at her wine. She took a glance to her left and saw the gathering of her guildmates of Dryad Locks engaging in merry celebration. It is now three years since Dryad Locks received a new guild master and a brand new reputation. While they did not always favor their guildmaster, they could not deny that they would have been in the gutter if it was not for him. Carwen did not dare to engage with their festivities. She did frankly not deserve to be in their company. She had attempted so once, an attempt which resulted in a dispute that cost this guild five members. Just as she was about to return her gaze to her glass of wine, she noticed that one of the people around the table was getting up and moving towards her. It was Asher Segenam, the guild Ace of the Dryads. In his hands he held two plates of fries and in his left pocket he had a bottle of ketchup. He took a seat opposite of Carwen and placed one of the plates in front of Carwen. "Thought that you might need it." He said. He pulled out the bottle of ketchup and did a little gesture, as if to say: "You want some?" Not wanting ot be rude, she accepted the gesture plate as he poured up a little pool of ketchup next to her fries. "TO what do I owe the pleasure, Asher?" She asked, her voice smooth and kind but lacking a smile. "I just thought that you could do with the company. Now shut up and gobble them fried taters!" he spoke merrily as he squirted some ketchup straight into his mouth. Carwen chuckled ever so slightly as she proceeded to engage in conversation with Asher, all while the rest of hte guild offered them odd looks every once in a while. About fifty meters away from the guild hall, Kazumi stood ready and vigilant with her partner at her side. The trademark smile on her features were absent and replaced with a cautions and serious frown. "Are you ready for this?" "I'm always ready" he tells her as his rings glow. "Oh and you can call me the pure heart" he tells her. Kazumi turns to him and nods her head. "Noted." She then returns her focus on to the building itself. She spread her legs wide and took a most peculiar stance. "'Dark Glass Dragon's Canon." "Hold on a second... We did what now?" Carwen asked Asher, a confused and sort of worried smile on her face. "You heard me. Right there and then, right on top of the table. It was quite the sight while it lasted." Asher joked. Carwen chuckled. "I should have you-" '''BOOM! The front doors to the guildhall suddenly exploded into smithereens, chips of wood flying in every considerable direction and all that remained was the hinges and a cloud of black smoke. Murmurs and outcries could be heard throughout the hall. "What in the-" "CARWEN KHAPREE! COME OUT AND FACE US, SCUM!" He sighs. "Did you have to yell?" He asks as he looks at his rings. "I hope these four limiters work" he says. Kazumi gave him a soothing grin. "Sorry, I like to make a grand entrance.". Her joyful grin returned to the serous frown once more, turning her gaze back towards the cloud of black smoke. "Carwen! I know that you are in there!" "Indeed I am." came a voice, nearly devoid of emotion. What little emotion there was in there was hinted towards boundless sadness. Out from the smokes walked a fair woman, clad in a white trenchcoat and fur hat, her clothing more for a cold winter than the dry warmth of summer. "What do you wish of me?" "this is her then?" he asks. "Who is this, Carwen?" Asks anohter figure that exits from the smoke. Clad in a beanie, zip up hoodie and sandals, this unknown man makes an entrance and takes a stand beside Carwen. "Friend of yours?" "Hardly." She answer bitterly. "These two don't look so strong." He says. "This will be easy" "A fools words. Let us see if your abilities are more keen than you mind." Said Carwen before she dashed forward, propulsors of "divine", crackling, dazzling light across her body, boosting her forward. "Iron Fist of the Divine Dragon!" she cried out, aiming her punch at Kazumi. "Dark Glass Dragon's Scales!" Kazumir cried out, her body becoming covered in lusterless blue scales of glass ash she braced herself for the blow. The strike landed across her forearms, a stigmata forming on Kazumi's skin. "Now!" "Weak. Regulus!" Shiro yells aiming a glowing fist at the unknown man. Asher remained still, not moving for as much as an inch, observing as the assailant rapidly approached him, his fist aglow with with a golden light. "Heh. You know..." he began but was interrupted by Shiro slamming his fist down at him. A bright light shone, temporarily blinding Shiro, but it did nothing to stop him. The punch shattered the ground and dust whelmed up and about them. As the dust scattered, Shiro found himself standing alone. A voice was then heard above him. There, hovering in the air stood Asher, standing upon the skull of some sort of beast. "I was just going to let Carwen take care of this alone, but it would seem that you have other plans. So all I have to say now is: Welcome to the bone zone!" He shouted, doing exagerated motions with his hands. "Where everyone has a bad time.". As he spoke those words, four additional beast skulls appeared, their jaws agape and radiating a blue light. "Ghast Blast." he spoke as the four skulls fired large and powerful rays of magic. "Regulus!" Jumps away sending a glowing orb at him. Kazumi tried to get a hold on Carwen, to get the upper hand, yet Carwen was quite a lot quicker, breaking free of Kazumi's attempts at a hold. Carwen braced her legs and made a powerful kick against Kazumi's arms, allowing Carwen to distance herself away from Kazumi. "Divine Dragon's Roar!" She cried out, letting out a powerful ray of "divine" light at Kazumi. Yet Kazumi was not about to back down. "Glass Dragon's Roar!". The two roars collided, both of them fighting for the dominance in the confrontation. The skull upon which Asher stood on simply moved to the right, easily dodging the orb of light which was sent towards him at a rather long range. With a snap of his fingers, an array of bones appeared around him, which quicky became aimed towards Shiro. "Time to get boned, friend." Shiro sighs as he looks at his rings. "i'm not in to men sorry" shiro says boredly. "Not much for jokes, huh? Too bad, because you are in for a shin-storm" he said. With one hand, he ordered the bones forward, which flew at high speeds towards their target. With the other hand, he drew in his pinkie and ring finger, and with the remaining ones he made a grasping gesture. Shiro would now find himself in position where he could no longer move his body and experience a senstion familiar to asphyxiation. Shiro was telepathically lifted into the air and hovered in spot as the bones made their approach. "i have to use this with the limiters on this will hurt Regulus Force!" shiro yells as white light covers him. "Put me down " As Shiro remained unable to break free of Asher's hold on him, the volley of bones hailed down on him with monumentous impact. After the bones collided, the bones disappeared into nothingness. After all the bones had made their impact, Asher then telepathically threw Shiro to Kazumi, crashing into her. As her glass roar was effectively interrupted, Carwen's Divine Roar struck the two mages, leaving them both with an additional stigmata. The one on Shiro would serve to weaken his endurance. Shiro gets up slowly with the white light still covering him. *now to break my limits!" shiro yells taking his rings off, his magic power overflowing. "you will fall, by the hands of Shiro Hikari!" "Cocky attitudes didn't serve me well in the end. You should probably do like me and drop the act." Carwen spat. "I'm am inclined to agree with dear Carwen here. You need a lot more than simply attitude if you are going to stand up to the Aces of Dryad Locks. Now, can we hurry this up?" He asked, snapping his fingers once more, bones appearing around him together with a mix of small orbs of blood. "Because we have a skele-ton of stuff to do today." "Very well.well." Shiro says as he starts moving his hands "hey kazumi cover me! This might take some time!" Carwen took battle position yet stood back, for she knew that Asher had something in mind. Asher made a wave of his hand which sent the bones and orbs of blood hurtling towards Shiro. Then three additional beast skulls appeared, rendering a total of eight ready for duty. Their jaws opened up, their oral caverns glwing brightly blue and aimed towards Kazumi. "Formation 1.8: Ghast Blast." he spoke as the eight skulls fired off their magic simultaneously, creating a very powerful beam of magic. "Have to use another spell then!' pure regulus!'" Shiro yells as a bright white light blocks the attacks and the is thrown at Asher. "Kazumi cover me!" Kazumi brought her hands together. "Glass Dragon's Reflector!". The beam of magic bounced off of the shield of glass and became directed towards Carwen. Carwen used her divine propulsions to dash to the side and avoided the blast. Deciding to no longer stnd back and do nothing, she pounced forward, boosting her punch with the propulsors. Kazumi was quick to block the strike and the two of them engaged in close combat. "I got Carwen! Take care of that prick over there!" Kazumi shouted at Shiro. The reflected projectiles that was heading towards Asher were simply swept away with a wave of his hand. "Don't ever try to use my own element against me. It will only end in misery." "Final Regulus!" Shiro yells as white light appears and takes on the form of a giant white leon, as shiro's hair that is covering his right eye is lifted up showing his sea blue eye and scar. "Attack" Shiro saysays as the white leon rushes at Asher. "Hm, looks like I have to work myself to the bone for this one." Asher said with a pristine smile. The eight skulls gathered around him and began spining in a rapid paze. "Formation 8... Apocalypse." he muttered with a grin. The skulls spun even faster than before before coming to a screeching halt. The beam tha ensued was the greatest one yet, pulsing forward, and with all it's might, it obliterated the Lion. Asher let out a sigh of relief. "Wowie, that was impressive. Haven't had to use that move in a while. You are quite something." "shining regulus blade!" Shiro calls out as a shining blade of white light appears in his hand. "Nope!" Asher cried out as he let his hand take on the same grasping form as it did previously, and Shiro would once more fin himself high in the air, immobalized and feeling as if he was suffocating. Tries to move. "dumb dark mage!" "Dark mage? Oh no, you are mistaken, I am 100% legal. So is my magic. However, if you are looking for former dark mages, you need look no further than the woman behind you and my master. Now, to other businesses." He said as he made a downwards sweeping motion, sending Shiro plummeting towards the ground, slamming hard into it and with another powerful sweep, Shiro was dragged across the ground, tearing up the earth as he did so and was sent spinning and tumbling. "Geeeeet Dunked On!" Gets up with his shining regulus blade in hand and rushes asher with great speed. "what do you mean!" "Like I said, we are completely legal. Some former Dark Mages, but come on, the council has no issue with it, so why you?" Asher says as he sends a storm of bones heading Shiro's way. blocks with the blade. "I lost my only friend to them!" Asher organized his skulls so that four of them began to circle Shiro and a fifth one hovered above his head. "sorry to hear that, but why draw a blanket over all of them? No one here did it, so why you mad, bro? Forth Formation: Omnipresence." he said as rays of magic power emited from the five skulls, heading straight for Shiro. "shield of regulus!" shiro yells as a sun like shield covers him. Asher was just about to grab hold of Shiro once more when there was a massive explosion to his left. From the cloud of dust from the blast came Carwen hurtling towards him. She made impact unto his frame, the two of them tumbling backwards. "Sorry about that, Asher." Carwen groaned as she quickly got back up. "No worries m...Carwen. I think we still got this in the bag." He says as he looks over at her, Carwen's frame seemingly untouched. The two of them took battle positions once more, ready for any incoming attacks. Kazumi made her presnce known once more as she appeared from where the blast had occured. "Having trouble over here, friend?" She asked sweetly. "I hope he didn't give you too much trouble." "it is time." shiro says as he gets up as his magic power grows and a white glow covers him. Asher transformed into a new state as his body began to decay into a half rotten form. "Ghoul stage." He spoke as his rotten body began to charge forward, with Carwen right beside him, Dragon Force activated and ready to kick ass and take names. Kazumi mimicked Carwen's actions and activated her own Dragon Force, ready to charge forward together with Shiro, Iron Fist at the ready to pummel their opponents to the ground. "spirit of regulus!" shiro yells as the white glow disappears leaving shiro's eyes leon like and his hands with claw like nails as he follows kazumi. Just as the two parties was about to clash once more, great vines with red pepper-like fruits grew out of the ground, forming into a wall that separated them. "That is quite enough." Spoke a deep voice, overflowing with authority. From a path that led into the town of Magnolia, stood a man with chromatic hair and a purple robe, his hand resting on the handle of a sword. "I don't know what this is about, but I suggest that we break things up here." he spoke with a bright smile. "What the!" shiro yells. Kazumi glares at the newly arrived man. "What the hell are you doing?! This has nothing to do with you!" Kazumi yells.. "Actually, this has everything to do with me. Because you see, not only did you cause damage of property, my property, you also attacked my girlfriend and friend, both of whom just so happen to be my guild mates and supordinates. You have given me every reason to step in, and you can bet that I will." Spoke the man. "who are you!" shiro growls. "Hotoke Perzsike, at their service." He spoke as he pointed towards his two guildmates. "Former Dark Mage, Mass Murderer and special agent of the Magic Council, now a guildmaster." "oh. kazumi now what?" shiro asks. "Isn't it obvious? He just admitted to have been a murderer? Does that not warrant enough of a reason to bring him in?" Kazumi hypothetically asks as she charges straight towards Hotoke, her fist covered in pristine, sharp glass. "wait!" shiro yells. Kazumi would not be hindered. She continued her charge, sharp glass in hand as she went for the punch. She closed the distance between the two within short and went for the strike. The fist of glass came Hotoke's way and just as it was about to hit, Hotoke blocked it with a hand of his own. Blood dripped from his hand that was closed around her fist, trickling down Kazumi's glass coated arm. Within a few second's notice, Hotoke had already drawn his sword, seemingly forged from ivory, and used it to pierce Kazumi's stomach. "Stay down." He spoke as he drew out his sword and Kazumi fell to the ground. "you monster!" shiro yells. "Quite right." Hotoke answers with a grin. "I'll stop you in the name of the Hikari family!" shiro says. Hotoke simply shrugged. "Go ahead and try." he spoke and took on battle position with his rapier. "Shining Regulus Blade! you hurt her!" shiro says. "come at me " shiro says holding the blade. Without another word, Hotoke dashed forward, shaping his rapier into the shape of a saber and swung it in an arc from top to bottom. The surprisingly might cut would send vibrations through the sword and down to the handle, threatening to cause Shiro atleast some lesser pain. grunts a bit in pain as he blocks. "nice try" "Not bad yourself. Calcium Maiden!" Hotoke cried out and suddenly his rib cage burst out of his chest like a gaping mouth ready to bobble him up. The teeth-like ribs were about to cose themselves around Shiro, crushing him in it's grasp. Jumps away as he slashes with two leon themed daggers/knifes "missed but my leon blades didn't miss you" Shiro says. The two daggers dug deep into his flesh before Shiro dashed off. Simply chuckling at this, he waves a hand in front of the injury on his chest, and shockingly, before his very eyes, the wounds closed up and were quickly gone from his frame, nto even the trace of a scar. "Not quite enough. Blood Wave!" Hotoke Cried out as a tidal wave of blood was cascading towards him, tearing up the earth along the way. Jumps out the way using regulus force. "Nice try!"